Observations | Syracusefan.com

Observations

kcsu

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Here are my observations.
Dino was correct in his concern about a lack of knowledge on Liberty. I thought the staff did an excellent job with in game adjustments.
The oline played well considering how little time they have had together. I think that they will see significant improvement as the season progresses.
RBs are solid. For the most part made good reads and blocked well. We have three very capable backs and all of them can catch. Expect to see alot of swing passes this year.
WRs look the part but were frustrated and out of synch last night. Props to the liberty staff as they had us well scouted and their scheme was excellent.
Tommy Gun did fine for a first start. Again Libertys scheme had us confused at first and took the middle/deep away which created some route timing issues. Coupled with first game nerves and Tommy had a mediocre night. Still he didnt panic and remained in control and exhibited excellent leadership. Its going to take a few games but TD is going to be fine. All in all the O played a very conservative vanilla game. Dino knew that his D had this and the staff played to our strength. I expect the O to hit its stride 4 or 5 games in.
As to the D im extremely impressed. For the most part we played them straight up no gimmicks required. The guys played solid assignment football with very few plays where we were caught out of position. Black had an excellent game and Curtis really played well and showed excellent conditioning. Cordy shook off some rust and will be a huge boost this year. I forgot what a great football player he is. Kingsley is a beast. I actually think his upside is every bit as good as Alton and Coleman. Our LBs are already an upgrade over last year and the potential of the young trio is obvious. This is our best and deepest defense in a very long time and will define who we are and how we play this year.
Specials were rock solid sans the Riley fumble. The Hof had his A game for sure and Smytz has a swing as pure as The Babe. Punt coverage needs to find an Alpha as i didnt see anyone that can replace custis. Hopefully one of our young backers steps up.
All in all our performance is aging well heading into dawn. My biggest takeaways are that the staff handled this game well. They remained calm, didnt force the issue and walked away with a win by playing to our strengths. This is a team that is going to improve significantly over the course of the season. Each game is going to be a challenge but i dont see anyone on our schedule including Clemson that we cant hang with as our Defense and special teams will keep us in every contest. Win number 1 is in the books. Im expecting an Orange Sunrise over the Mountains this morning. Go Cuse!
 
Here are my observations.
Dino was correct in his concern about a lack of knowledge on Liberty. I thought the staff did an excellent job with in game adjustments.
The oline played well considering how little time they have had together. I think that they will see significant improvement as the season progresses.
RBs are solid. For the most part made good reads and blocked well. We have three very capable backs and all of them can catch. Expect to see alot of swing passes this year.
WRs look the part but were frustrated and out of synch last night. Props to the liberty staff as they had us well scouted and their scheme was excellent.
Tommy Gun did fine for a first start. Again Libertys scheme had us confused at first and took the middle/deep away which created some route timing issues. Coupled with first game nerves and Tommy had a mediocre night. Still he didnt panic and remained in control and exhibited excellent leadership. Its going to take a few games but TD is going to be fine. All in all the O played a very conservative vanilla game. Dino knew that his D had this and the staff played to our strength. I expect the O to hit its stride 4 or 5 games in.
As to the D im extremely impressed. For the most part we played them straight up no gimmicks required. The guys played solid assignment football with very few plays where we were caught out of position. Black had an excellent game and Curtis really played well and showed excellent conditioning. Cordy shook off some rust and will be a huge boost this year. I forgot what a great football player he is. Kingsley is a beast. I actually think his upside is every bit as good as Alton and Coleman. Our LBs are already an upgrade over last year and the potential of the young trio is obvious. This is our best and deepest defense in a very long time and will define who we are and how we play this year.
Specials were rock solid sans the Riley fumble. The Hof had his A game for sure and Smytz has a swing as pure as The Babe. Punt coverage needs to find an Alpha as i didnt see anyone that can replace custis. Hopefully one of our young backers steps up.
All in all our performance is aging well heading into dawn. My biggest takeaways are that the staff handled this game well. They remained calm, didnt force the issue and walked away with a win by playing to our strengths. This is a team that is going to improve significantly over the course of the season. Each game is going to be a challenge but i dont see anyone on our schedule including Clemson that we cant hang with as our Defense and special teams will keep us in every contest. Win number 1 is in the books. Im expecting an Orange Sunrise over the Mountains this morning. Go Cuse!
Really excellent analysis
 
Good point about finding an alpha on specials. Losing Shy and Cusits hurts our specials a bit.

Shout out to Otto Z for his special teams play. Love watching him on coverage units.
 
Thx one other point. We could use a physical receiver. Possibly the late addition from Canada if he can pick up the O. Its too bad Hendrix is injured as he has the size and strength to get off the line clean.
The Hendrix love on this board is out of control
 
The Hendrix love on this board is out of control
He is 6'3 215 pounds and to date is the highest rated WR recruit in the Dino era. He was offered by over a dozen elite programs and by all accounts was going to play his frosh year before injuries. Granted that might not have transferred to on field performance but the kid screams potential.
 
Every good play for Taj happens when he lines up on the left side and crosses to the right; didn't like him lining up on the right side of the formation.
Sean should wash the orange dye out of his hair immediately; and get his number 10 jersey back from Gunther pronto.
 
Our receiving corps:

Seniors: Sean Riley 5-8 170
Juniors: Jesse Conners 6-2 231; Chris Elmore 6-0 295, Aaron Hackett 6-3 234; Tristan Jackson 6-1 191; Nykeim Johnson 5-8 172; Zach Lesko 6-2 226
Sophomores: Taj Harris 6-2 175; Sharod Johnson 5-11 179; Cameron Jordan 6-3 216; Russell Thompson-Bishop 6-1 223
Freshmen: Luke Benson 6-3 210; James Cherry 5-9 172; Ethan Fischer 6-0 187; Ed Hendrix 6-3 208; Courtney Jackson 6-1 191, Kevin Johnson, Jr. 5-11 201; Cooper Lutz 6-0 205; Kevin Mital 6-2 210, Anthony Queeley 6-2 197; Sam Warren 5-11 180; Nate Wellington 5-10 177

We have plenty of guys with good size. They just aren't at the top of the depth chart, although Trishton Jackson is not small and Taj Harris is at least tall.
 
Dusk to twilight is hard on depth perception and that band box stadium filled with red along with the sun going down is not an easy place to play at that time of day.
 

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